While filming the 2016 season's first episode of Beyond Blue and Gold, I discovered that Kim Pegula's "comfortable" shoes have heels. It's probably because she's the perfect mix of style and practicality - not unlike Buffalo itself.

Aside from being a co-owner of the Sabres, Bills and HarborCenter (to name a few), Kim is the CEO of Pegula Sports and Entertainment. But it's her unofficial role as Buffalo's most ardent ambassador that highlights Kim's most memorable trait: her genuine nature.

A lot of successful people are perfectly friendly, but it can come off as phony and calculating. Not with Kim.

Anyone who's spent time with her in person can feel that she's authentic. Shortly after I was hired at PSE, I was at (716) Food and Sport with my extended family when I happened to see Kim eating upstairs with a few of the Pegula kids. She didn't just give her new employee a polite hello. She came downstairs to meet my parents and husband, and after chatting with my aunts and uncles for about 30 seconds, she asked them to scoot over in the booth so she could sit down with them.

For Kim, interacting with the public one-on-one isn't an obligation, but a perk of the job.

She'd rather stroll through Canalside meeting fans than give an impersonal speech or press conference. Her love for and pride in the community is obvious. It's also clear that promoting Buffalo and giving people a positive experience to hold onto is always on the front of her mind.

In this episode of Beyond Blue and Gold, you get to experience NHL Draft Day in Buffalo in Kim's shoes. And it's a good thing she went with her comfortable ones because she never stops moving. She always finds time for one more photo or hello-or to adjust a crooked sign.

Although you won't see this in the episode, when the production crew was politely trying to figure out how to clip the microphone pack to her draft night dress, she offered with a hand wave, "Oh, just tape it to my back. I don't mind."

She does whatever needs to be done, and she does it with grace. To Kim, what matters most is putting her best foot forward for Buffalo.